San Antonio Councilman Perry Concerned With Proposed Change Of City Charter Language

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

February 8, 2021

SAN ANTONIO– During B-Session on Wednesday, February 3rd, City Council was briefed on the proposed amendment to the City Charter to allow the City to issue bonds for permanent public improvements or any other public purpose. The following statement was released in response to last week’s discussion:

“This decision is ultimately going to be in the hands of voters, but I want our community to have a clear vision as to how this could impact San Antonio’s public works requirements. One thing we must take into consideration are the unintended consequences of pulling funding away from our core requirements. This proposed change has the potential to siphon critical funding away from the City’s most essential responsibilities – public works. Presently, there are over 400 miles of F (failed) streets in San Antonio that would cost over $800M to fix. Our annual infrastructure and maintenance program funded through the City’s General Fund could never catch up to those needs. In addition, the backlog in necessary drainage projects is over $2B and sidewalks is approximately $500M.

These big-ticket items could take years if not decades longer to complete if we do not take a balanced approach to funding. The proposed Charter language is also overly broad. It leaves the door open for economic development as well as housing projects. I do not believe that municipalities should be in competition with the private market. Affordable housing is an important aspect of life here in San Antonio, but it’s already being funded at the Federal and State level. Ultimately, we must make sure that we do not limit the funding capabilities of our already failing infrastructure.”

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.